YouTube Extravaganza

Posted on by scott

Yes, I may be in Thailand, but I’m working terribly, terribly hard on my next book.

No, really. So it wasn’t me who found these videos on YouTube, I swear. I’m working way too hard.

But here they are:

This video for So Yesterday has lots of cool split-screen energy.

And a smooth one for Midnighters. Check out the casting.

And this one, although it’s not really about Uglies, does give you some idea how much work goes into making people in magazine ads into pretties. (In some ways, Photoshopping inspired the trilogy more than cosmetic surgery.)

And here’s another really creepy one about extreme retouching. A must watch. It’s like the operation unfolding before your eyes.

And finally, I mentioned this excellent video review of Uglies in a previous post, but include it here for completeness.

Can you guys find any more? (One link per post, please, or my spam filter has a whole bag of zap with your name on it!)

41 thoughts on “YouTube Extravaganza”

  1. god thats creepy, what was with the chick cutting her toungue open? the midnighters lady spelled shadows wrong…. oops.

  3. I found that So Yesterday video over the summer and watched it many, many times. The narrator was a strange voice… but it’s pretty good. And this is of course my clone typing this, I’m working too hard on my Nano novel… yep. 26k and counting. Leave the clone to answer emails and post on Scott’s blog! Or something like that…

  4. I meant the narrator HAS a strange voice. Every narrator IS a voice… nano is making my clone type wrong words…

  5. I liked the Midnighters one–except I always imagined Rex as a bit more gothy and nerdy (the more, the better).

    After watching those videos about image retouching, I wondered: what are your opinions on makeup?

  7. Wow, that second to last one with the kids and the lady doing something with the knife on her tongue was CREEPY. Seriously. But so true. It’s amazing what people will do to their bodies. That’s what really got me hooked on Uglies, that sadly, it’s not such a farfetched idea.

  8. I watched the one one extreme retouching, wow!! Its scary that a) we’re living in a world where someone would make up such a program to destroy the real human beauty to replace it with whatever they want. b) we’re vain enough to allow such deludedness. I’ve read so much of your stuff. Your characters are so addicting to read about. 🙂

  9. Wow! The book trailer things were cool, some people ahve alot of time on their hands…I really liked the photo retouching thing. It makes you see haw messed-up America is, so much make-up and prettyfication( if that is a word). But i liked them all. The guy that did the voice for So Yesterday was funny. I loved it. It reminded me of when my friends and I tried to make little movies…good times…

  10. Last year Topaz and I and our friend took a screenwriting/moviemaking class at school and made movies that were pretty cool (as a sample, they had titles such as Of Raccoons and Boys, Justino, and even an advertisment for ‘Coon Caps’). Though Windows Moviemaker is the devil’s assistant….

  11. As I watched the retouching videos I was stunned by how they can do that, but I also cringed back in disgust. That’s creepy and amazing at the same time…more on the creepy part though. I have always wondered why people do things just to look ‘prettier’, I mean, I sorta know why but, gosh thats so…scary. Well, I LOVE the Midnighters video and I LOVED the So Yesterday video also. Very Cool!

  12. “I have always wondered why people do things just to look ‘prettier’, I mean, I sorta know why but, gosh thats so…scary.”

    Well it kind of hurts the self esteem when you’ve never been told by a member of the opposite sex that you look nice…especially when you’re almost 20. Yes, there are plenty of things that are more important than the way you look, but that’s the first thing that people are going to know about you–you’re appearance.
    (But let me make it clear that I think all of that stuff in the videos is way too extreme.)

  16. Oh yeah, hey Scott, do you write any adult books. I mean, I know that adults can read (and enjoy your ya books, but have you written any just for adults?

  17. Oh yeah, that best uglies movie ever thing is a tv show. Scott linked it forever ago in a blog post, guess he forgot to mention it. The midnighters and so yesterday movies were great, seems like a school book report project where you have to make a trailer for a book, except better.

  19. Hey, whatever happened to the whole Halloween costume gallery idea? I have a Midnighters costume picture, but I need to get the film developed…

  20. Hey Scott!

    Thanks again for mentioning our video! We’re pleased and honored to be included with this great bunch! And as an aside, I’ve gotten better at compression since posting the Uglies video (phew) – my vids look much less crunchy these days!

    Below is a creepy time lapse morph vid of Michael Jackson. He is not directly related to your wonderful books but he has definitely undergone an extreme futuristic transformation!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNXVBZCTrs

    best, Eva

  21. PS Thanks Topaz! And the “weird music” we used in the video was mainly Portishead. They are a British band with a creepy and distinct sound. Good for certain moods!

    Here is a question for you all – what sort of music would you put in the Uglies movie soundtrack? And who would you cast? Oooh, cannot wait to see the movie (but will always love the books best!).

    I am thinking Gwen Stefani would be good for the soundtrack and Keira Knightly as Tally.

  22. I love Portishead (‘specially Mysterons); it made me happy you used them. I was going in the opposite direction for people to do music and acting, though.

  23. Wait, they’re making Uglies into a movie (sorry, I’m a little out of it lately)? I don’t think it would be nearly as good as the book. In fact I would probably have to laugh during the movie cuz it couldn’t be anywhere near the same quality as the book!

  24. Eva,

    Yeah, the movie you made was the best (as I said above) and I think that you would need really modern-sounding music for the Uglies movie (wait, there’s going to be one???)

    -Topaz

  27. Thanks Topaz! Yes, I think you are right that modern music would be best. I thought there was a movie deal in the works, am I wrong? I doubt it would ever be as good but I am sure it would still be fun! I like the idea of it being sort of like Gattaca crossed with Clueless! Can’t wait!

  28. Ha, I know. Leave it to me to change the subject, right? I just wanted to know if anyone else doing a nano was finished and has recieved their purple bar. Just curious, you know, to look up excerpts and things by fellow Westerfeld fans. And if you want to read my crazy excerpt featuring a squirrel-chasing protagonist, you can search for Falconrider under “Authors” at the nano site.

  29. Personally I would put the Fray on the soundtrack, not there poppy stuff Like over my head but they have some really good songs later on in the track! one song would fit perfectly at one point in the Specials but I can’t say becuase someone might not have gotten there yet…..

  30. I was wondering if they were making Uglies into a movie? PRETTIES and SPECIALS went too fast for me, well I read them real quick, after I read UGLIES I wan’ted to keep reading more, when I found out it was a whole series of three? I got the last remaining two and I was excited. But read it too fast. lol I just wanted to say that you’re work is so awesome! I’ve started reading Midnighters just a few days ago.
    But to get to point of my comment, because I am confused. Are you going to make Uglies a movie? That would be really cool.
    By the way! I did a fan art of Shay on my art page. I hope you see it one day. That would be cool..
    anyhow, have a good day!
    Tina

  33. i am leaving this here in hopes you will see it… your email isn’t working :[

    I absolutely LOVED the Uglies Trilogy!! They were AMAZING!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write another book about Tally in the wild with David, it would be awesome!!

    YOU should make Uglies into a movie. or Pretties. Or even Specials!
    You are my favorite author right now!

    I am asking for Midnighters for Christmas!!

    please write back!

    Emily Zimovan

  34. sadly i have no sound on my computer.
    as a matter of fact i dont even own a computer! im at the library.
    watching videos on youtube with no sound is rather… interesting. i imagine it to be somewhat like the way my friend cathy feels when people are talking at her (she is deaf)-of course what do i know about that?
    the video of midnighters was interesting. i imagined the characters differently though. the girl shown as jessica was somewhat like how i imagined her…. in a movie would the actresses younger sister play beth?
    itd be kind of wierd-they look so much alike.

  35. O my god that whole extreme makeover human edition makes me so mad. who says whats pretty and whats not? i mena girls used to swallow arsnic so they would be paler and died because that was “pretty” then girls ingested tape worms and wore things made out of whale bone to be skinnier. AND NOW WE ARE STARVING OUR SELVES TO DEATH SO THAT PEOPLE WILL THINK WE ARE “PRETTY” why do we do these things to ourselves so that society will accept us? things like this enfuriate me.

  36. wow! thats scarey, and terribly weird about what people will do to their bodies, just what peopl will say, what they think is pretty, or yet, beautiful,
    i was wondering, since i liked all 3 books, uglies, pretties, and specials, is u ever considered about having them made into movies? that would be totally awesome. thats what me and my friend think! it would be so cool!

  37. Oh my god. I LOVED the Midnighters one. That was good casting. But how come there was only one Melissa-quote?

  38. wow! the one with the little boy at the end is like how i picture the operation in the uglies series. also… the one where its really fast, i wrote an essay about that for school.

Comments are closed.